Dallas Animal Services Calls for Donations Ahead of Kitten Season

The Dallas Animal Services and Adoption Center is preparing for the upcoming kitten season by calling for donations from the community.

The center posted the call in a Facebook post on Wednesday. "Kitten season isn't the only busy time—our cats and kittens need enrichment to stay happy, healthy, and confident as they wait for homes," the post reads.

How can the community help? By shopping the center's Amazon Wishlist. The items purchased are directly sent to the center.

Here's what's on the wish list:

• Toys
• Scratchers
• Tunnels
• Other enrichment activities

In another Facebook post from Feb. 3, the center announced it is recruiting local residents to help it handle the more than 1,300 orphaned kittens that are expected to enter the shelter program in the spring.

According to the sign-up page, the foster program has room for beginner, intermediate, and experienced kitten volunteers. Potential fosters can also choose developmental stages and number of kittens they feel comfortable handling.

"Itty bitty" kittens require bottle feeding every 2-3 hours, even during the night. Kittens at 3-4 weeks old still require bottle or syringe feeding every 4-5 hours. Older kittens are 7-8 weeks can eat independently, but still need plenty of attention and 2-3 meals per day.

After eight weeks, the kittens can generally eat independently twice a day and just require basic monitoring if they don't have any medical conditions or complications. Volunteers can also indicate what medical conditions (if any) they are comfortable managing.

Kitten season runs from late spring to early summer or even into the fall, which means that the season isn't long over before shelters start making preparations to recruit and train volunteers and fosters all over again.